Valentine's Challenge 2022 - Day 4
Prompt: In-Laws
Find all stories of this challenge in the masterpost here.
A/N: I honestly didn't know whether to tag this as a Seliot or Sethel story. For real, I see where Artemis has got her talent to go and make stories about herself from. Ethel Hexley belongs to @the-al-chemist, the Gerard brothers belong to @kc-and-co
If there was one thing Ethel Hexley loved more than anything it was her family. You wouldnât always think it when it came to her twin brother Jim, but Ethel loved even him. There wasnât a lot she wouldnât do for any member of her family, but this was especially true when it came to Selene Fraser.
Selene and Ethel had been each otherâs ride or die from pretty much the beginning, and all Ethel had ever wanted for Selene was her happiness - which was why she had a hard time growing accustomed to the thought of Selene giving her heart to Eliot Gerad, of all people.
It hadnât taken Ethel longer than a few minutes to come up with a lengthy list of most infallible arguments against a date with Eliot when she had been informed that she and Selene wouldnât be spending this yearâs Valentineâs Day together, but Selene had shrugged off each and every one of them.
After being so rudely disregarded, Ethel had tried to tighten the reins, but neither making Eliotâs laundry disappear from the washing nor sending him an owl telling him Selene had picked up a possibly fatal and definitely highly infectious disease yet unknown to wizardkind had served her purpose.
Unsatisfied with the result of her endeavours, Ethel now sat between two piles of dresses in their dormitory in Gryffindor Tower with a decidedly bad mood, watching Selene twirling in front of a floor length mirror.
Selene had been trying on dresses all morning, and none of them seemed to satisfy her. She was currently wearing a dark red one which made her eyes look even more green than usual. She stopped turning and stepped closer to the mirror, regarding her reflection critically. She then sighed, shook her head and held out her hand.
âNext.â
Ethel frowned as she reached for another dress from the quickly dwindling pile the two girls had compiled from their wardrobes. Selene tossed the red dress onto the pile of discarded clothes and took the navy blue one Ethel was holding out to her.
âWhatever shall I do if none of these dresses fit, Effy?â she called out, her voice muffled as her head vanished inside the dress. âI canât possibly go wearing anything ordinary.â
âYou canât possibly go at all, if you ask me,â Ethel muttered under her breath, but Selene had heard her regardless. She glowered at Ethel when she emerged from beneath the fabric.
âYou certainly arenât of much help.â
âIf Iâm so utterly unhelpful, how come you have asked me for assistance instead of the Slytherin witches?â Ethel asked pointedly.
Selene finally decided the blue dress was to her taste and was now busy holding her hair up and away from her face - something Ethel had never seen her do.
âDo you think Eliot would fancy me more with my hair up or down?â
Ethel only snorted in response, which made Selene turn from the mirror and sit down on the bed next to her.
âI know you donât like him, but do try to be a little bit excited, just for my sake, would you, Effy?â She took Ethelâs hand and looked suddenly worried. âYou wonât do anything funny to spoil our date, will you? You have to promise me!â
Ethel was genuinely offended at the idea. âHow could you think I would so much as dream of sabotaging you, Selly?â she cried out. âI would never!â
Seleneâs face softened and she leaned against her best friendâs shoulder. âI know. Forgive me for saying that. Iâm just nervous.â
âIf anyone should be nervous, itâs him,â Ethel muttered. âHe doesnât deserve a witch as brilliant as you.â
âEffyâŚ,â Selene said with a warning undertone.
Ethel tried her hardest to not say anything bad about Eliot until it was time for Selene to leave. As soon as she had gone, Ethel looked around the mostly empty common room, undecided on what to do now. Most students had gone to spend Valentineâs Day in Hogsmeade, and thinking about it, there was absolutely no reason for Ethel to not do the same, was there?
Everyone was going, she told herself as she bundled up in her coat, scarf and a woolly hat which covered most of her face; she was just taking out their pet for some fresh air, she reasoned, stowing Alan the ferret inside the pocket of her coat; who knew, she might even find some interesting birds to watch, she thought and grabbed the spyglass Jim had gotten for their last birthday and which had somehow ended up in Ethelâs drawer. Funny how that happened over and over again.
Fully prepped and ready, Ethel set out on her way into Hogsmeade. She walked at a brisk pace and it wasnât long before she could see Eliot and Selene appear in front of her. Ethel slowed her steps. There was nothing wrong with walking behind them, there was only one way from Hogwarts to the village, after all. She did take care to stay out of sight, however; she didnât want to disturb the happy couple after all.
Ethel made it into Hogsmeade without either Selene or Eliot noticing her. They really shouldâve paid more attention to their surroundings, Ethel thought to herself while hiding behind a stall selling roses. Someone could ambush them at any given moment. Their behaviour was utterly irresponsible. What kind of friend would she be if she didnât alert them to the possibility of imminent danger?
Not taking her eyes off Eliot, Ethel drew her wand. She just wanted to see if he had what it took to protect Selene. Ethel snorted at the thought; as if Selene needed protection.
When the couple walked past a muddy puddle in the middle of the street, Ethel flicked her wand. Eliot tripped and stumbled, and Ethel was gleefully waiting for him to fall when he suddenly caught his stride with an unnaturally wide step. Selene said something to him, Eliot shrugged, and they continued along their way.
Ethel frowned and weighed her options for a moment. She focused and pointed her wand at Eliot. As she gave it another flick, the tails of his coat started smoking and burst into flame. But before Eliot could notice and show that he would certainly panic at the slightest hint of danger, the fire went out.
How odd; setting people on fire had never failed Ethel before.
They continued like this for a while: Ethel made snow fall off a roof and it fell differently than it should have; she made a bin topple to the ground right before Eliotâs feet and it swerved and tilted to the other side.
With every failed attempt to prove to Selene that Eliot was not a suitable match for her, Ethel grew increasingly vexed. She put her wand away and cracked her knuckles. Something was going on, that much was clear, but it took more than something to stop Ethel Hexley on a mission.
She scooped a handful of snow from the ground which she then formed into a ball, and aimed for the back of Eliotâs head. Before it could hit its goal, however, Ethelâs snowball was shot out of the air by another one, right before a second snowball hit her square in the face.
Outraged at being so rudely attacked, Ethel looked around to see where the snowball had been coming from. On the other side of the street, right across from where Ethel was hiding, she could spot a head peeking out from behind a bush. It was Oliver Gerard, Eliotâs older brother and the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
Oliver looked at her with a serious expression and made a shooing motion with both of his hands. Ethel answered him with a not entirely appropriate gesture that made Oliver blush, but what did he expect? No one enjoyed being sabotaged, after all.
To drive her point home, she formed another snowball, this time aimed at the older Gerard brother. Oliver made a muffled sound as he ducked behind his bush, only to emerge with a snowball of his own he sent right back at Ethel.
Before they knew it a heated snowball fight had ensued. Ethel clearly had the upper hand; she was certain it would be only moments before Oliver would acknowledge her triumph and declare his eat. Ethel was in the process of aiming her final shot when the sound of a throat being cleared made her stop dead in her tracks.
âWhat exactly do you think youâre doing?â Selene asked, her eyebrows raised and her hands stemmed into her hips.
âShowing Oliver how to properly throw a snowball,â Ethel explained, aimed and threw but her snowball never made it past Seleneâs hand, which shot forward and intercepted Ethelâs shot.
âI donât think thatâs what youâre doing at all,â she said and gave Ethel a stern look. âOn the contrary, I think you are behind all these little accidents we had the whole day.â A look of disappointment crossed Seleneâs face. âYou promised me not to interfere, Effy!â
âI wasnât,â Ethel replied stuffily and clapped the snow off her hands. âI could never do anything to hurt you.â
âIsnât it ever so fortunate that all the bad luck seemed to fall on Eliot then?â
âHere I am, minding my own affairs and showing Alan our most beautiful village, and yet you are accusing me of such vile intentions. We donât deserve that, do we Alan?â Ethel cried out and looked down at her pocket where she expected to see Alanâs head poke out, but Alan had already freed himself of Ethelâs coat and climbed up Seleneâs skirts up to her shoulder. Ethel glared at him. âTraitorous critter.â
âWhy would you try to ruin this for me Effy?â Selene sighed and sounded hurt. âOr you, for that matter?â she addressed Oliver, who was now being dragged over to them by Eliot.
âI would never want to ruin your rendez-vous!â Oliver protested. âIâm not here to stand in true loveâs way. Only in hers,â he added and nodded into Ethelâs direction.
âWhat is that supposed to mean?â Ethel bristled up.
âIâm sabotaging the saboteur.â
âHow utterly rude. I wasnât sabotaging a soul. My whole purpose was to ensure your brother could protect my dear sister in the face of danger.â
âBy flinging him into the mud and setting him on fire?â
âBeing on fire is not a suitable excuse.â
âAre you even listening to yourself?â Oliver asked and threw his hands in the air.
âYes, I am,â Ethel said indignantly, âand obviously I am the only person with so much as a little common sense left if you think -â
âStop it, both of you!â Selene cut into their bickering. She had raised her voice and glared between Ethel and Oliver. âI appreciate the effort of wanting to keep us safe or wanting to keep us safe from anyone trying to keep us safe. But this is enough. Eliot and I are on a date, whether you like it or not, and we are perfectly capable of protecting ourselves. And we donât need a matchmaking chaperone either,â she added, which wiped Oliverâs triumphant grin off his face.
This was the first time Ethel had even seen Selene being angry at her. She felt miserable for making her best friend upset.
âDo forgive me for ruining your afternoon,â she said contritely and and meant it. âI really only wanted to -â
âI know,â Selene said, sounding decidedly softer than before. âBut I am perfectly fine. Trust me, Effy, will you?â
âWho else would I trust more than you, dear sister?â Ethel smiled.
She turned to Oliver, linked arms with him and pulled him away from Selene and his brother. âI feel generous today, so I will treat the loser of our snowball fight to an invigorating drink.â
âWait,â Oliver said and gave her a sideways-glance, âwhat would make you think I was losing?â
Ethel looked at him pityingly. âOf course you were. Pray, do you think Cledwyn might be at The Three Broomsticks?â
Their chatter faded as Selene and Eliot stood watching Ethel and Oliver walk away. When she was sure they were out of earshot, Selene exhaled slowly and turned to Eliot with an apologetic smile.
âFamily, huh?â
âWorse,â Eliot replied wryly, âin-laws.â












